Frank Jackson's feat of statesmanship wins admiration: Brent Larkin

Because there are few tougher jobs in elected life, it's always special when big-city mayors enjoy one of those rare moments that can change a town.

Carl Stokes toppled barriers and transformed politics in Cleveland in ways that reverberate to this day.

George Voinovich steered the city out of a default that had ruined its reputation and hampered its ability to function.

Mike White risked all of his political capital to make Gateway a reality.

And White's passion and commitment to the city's school system resulted in structural changes that now, nearly two decades later, have provided one of his successors an opportunity to save young lives.

That successor, Frank Jackson, is now responsible for a special moment of his own.

For sure, Jackson enjoyed enormous help from an unlikely group of allies in setting the stage for the expected passage this month of a state law aimed at bringing dramatic change to Cleveland's schools -- change that will give the district more control over teacher contracts, salaries and layoff procedures, and more control over charter schools.

But no one doubts where most of the credit belongs.

Dan McCarthy is president of The Success Group, one of Columbus' most respected public affairs and lobbying firms. His father, James, was a prominent Akron-area public official for more than three decades, the last seven years as Summit County's elected executive.

Having spent 20 years lobbying politicians, Dan McCarthy was awed at Jackson's ability to persuade Democrats and Republicans to set aside their self-interests for a greater good.

"I've been around politics my whole life," said McCarthy, 44, who helped with the Jackson plan on behalf of his friend and client Albert Ratner. "This was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. At every critical juncture in this process, Frank Jackson made the right decision. You could not hear him talk about these kids without saying to yourself, 'I'm going to be with this guy.' "

Carol Caruso, vice president of advocacy for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, recalled "perhaps a dozen times" when the Jackson plan seemed on its deathbed, only to be resuscitated.

"He was an absolute master," said Caruso. "It was a wonderful thing to watch."

For mastering "the art of the deal" at a time when it is almost extinct in Washington and Columbus, House Minority Leader Armond Budish, a Shaker Heights Democrat, called Jackson "the Picasso of Cleveland."

Indeed, the magnitude of what Jackson accomplished is difficult to overstate.

Barely six months after Ohio voters overwhelmingly repealed a law (Senate Bill 5) that would have gutted collective bargaining guarantees for public employees, he persuaded Democrats and labor leaders to make concessions in rights now enjoyed by Cleveland teachers. And he cajoled Republicans to scale back benefits to a group of their most generous benefactors -- charter school operators.

Sitting at a table in his City Hall office early Tuesday morning, Jackson said there was never a time when he thought he might fail.

"It never crossed my mind," deadpanned Jackson.

Now, the mayor must lead a levy campaign to pay for the plan, then oversee its implementation.

Despite a growing body of evidence that well-run schools can engage the poorest of children and improve student outcomes, some cynics argue this won't work. It's a belief premised on the notion that the difficult lives many inner-city children lead outside the classroom will prevent them from learning inside the classroom.

But Peter Raskind, who won rave reviews as interim chief executive of the Cleveland schools before stepping aside last year, finds the thought of not trying "irresponsible and un-American."

"We have an absolute societal obligation to try to improve our schools and outcomes for our students," said Raskind. "It will be a game of inches and, undoubtedly, we will sometimes be frustrated by slow progress. But not trying is unthinkable. My experience was that this is exactly why thousands of Cleveland teachers, administrators and staff get up every morning -- to meet this challenge on behalf of our community."

Pondering what comes next in this journey, Jackson gestures to the window of his second-floor office, where he enjoys a bird's-eye view of work on a new convention center and other construction under way downtown.

"These projects come and go. We spend hundreds of millions and people feel good. For a while, everybody's happy. Then, in a few years, we wonder what happened, what went wrong. We, as a city, have been shallow in our positioning of Cleveland for the future.

"Education is what will provide this city with the greatest return on its investment. I wanted to retire. Instead, I'm running for re-election. And the only reason I'm doing it is because of education."

Spoken like a man who wants more special moments.

Larkin was The Plain Dealer's editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.

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